Over the years Google has become the name of web search. It's undisputed. No "ifs" "ands" or "buts" about it. But there are a portion of people who are becoming disenchanted with Google's practices with user information and privacy concerns. There is a website that has been around for a bit called DuckDuckGo. This site is a search engine like Google and works in the same manner for the most part. You type in a search query and it returns relevant results. But users of the DuckDuckGo site have reported that they like the clean interface more than what's Google's has been like lately. Below are some screenshots:

Both were taken with the same search term used. To me I don't see a whole lot of difference in the interface. There are a few social icons at the top of the Google page, and a menu bar, but to me both are not that distracting. The other appeal to the DuckDuckGo site is that it does not collect any user data at all. Their privacy policy is well written and easily understood without a lot of technical jargon to have to sift through. But to boil it all down, the site does not send any of your search data to the sites you visit, does not retain any of the data itself, and uses native HTTPS for added security. How the search results themselves stack up is yet to be determined, although some users have said that Google still gives the best results. As DuckDuckGo gets mature and refines its search algorithms it will begin to be a major competitor in search vs. search. I have used it myself, and indeed it is my default search engine at work. If you value privacy or just don't like Google, give DuckDuckGo a spin. It also has a plugin for Firefox that makes it the default search engine.

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Arthur Whitehouse - Technician: I am a Microsoft and CompTIA certified professional. I have been in the business since 2000. My main focus is on end-user functionality and providing alternatives to what mainstream users are force fed as the way it "should" be in personal computing.